Long Beach State University
12-12, 10-11
UC Irvine
25-12, 17-4
Dirtbags Drop Series Opener Against No. 24 UC Irvine
4/30/2021 7:44:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State jumped out to a five-run lead early, but could not stop the UCI offense.
The Dirtbags got the scoring started in the second as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through two and a half innings.
A Jonathon Long leadoff home run got the inning started in the top of the second to open up the scoring. The freshman now leads the team with five homers on the year and 15 RBI.
Jesse Lopez responded with a double followed by a hit by pitch to Chris Jimenez put two aboard for Brennan Rozell. The second baseman launched a double down the left field line to plate the Dirtbags' second run of the ballgame.
An RBI groundout would plate the third run and a throwing error capped off the LBSU four-run second inning.
Connor Kokx led the top of the third with a single into right before stealing second base. That extends his hit streak to 14 games and he has now reached base in 25 straight games. The redshirt freshman would eventually come around to score on a Jimenez RBI double.
With a 5-0 lead and two shutout innings under his belt, Johnathan Lavallee headed out for his third inning of work and struggled.
After a home run led off the inning, a walk and a single put two runners on. With two out and two-on, the Anteaters collected four straight knocks leading to four more runs and the third inning came to an end with things knotted up at five runs apiece.
Unfortunately for Long Beach State, Trenton Denholm settled in to toss five straight scoreless innings while the UCI offense put up three runs in the fifth and four runs in the seventh to make it a seven-run ballgame.
After rallying for five runs through the first three innings, Long Beach State could only scrounge up four baserunners in the final six innings as the Anteaters closed things out for the 12-5 victory.
Kokx led the Dirtbag offense going 2-for-4 with a run scored while Long went 1-for-3 with the solo home run.
Jimenez was 1-for-2 with a double, run scored, and an RBI before being pinch hit for.
Long Beach State will look to bounce back in tomorrow's doubleheader. First pitch at Anteater Ballpark is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Denholm, Trenton (4-1)
L: Pacheco, Basilio (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Lopez, Jesse 1 ; Jimenez, Chris 1 ; Rozell, Brennan 1
HR: Long, Jonathon 1
RBI: Long, Jonathon 1 ; Jimenez, Chris 1 ; Rozell, Brennan 1 ; Loust, Charlie 1
SH: Long, Jonathon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Long, Jonathon 1 ; Lopez, Jesse 1 ; Jimenez, Chris 1 ; Rozell, Brennan 1
SB: Kokx, Connor 1
CS: Luttrell, Chase 1
HBP: Jimenez, Chris 1
PO: Lopez, Jesse 1
Batting:
2B: Church, Nathan 1 ; Tatum, Dillon 1 ; Castro, Jacob 1
HR: McGuire, Connor 1
RBI: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Church, Nathan 3 ; Peabody, Mike 1 ; Spillane, Luke 1 ; Tatum, Dillon 1 ; Castro, Jacob 2 ; McGuire, Connor 3
SF: Peabody, Mike 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Church, Nathan 1 ; Spillane, Luke 2 ; Tatum, Dillon 2 ; Kendle, Caden 1 ; Nakawake, Taishi 1 ; McGuire, Connor 2 ; Hadeen, Woody 2
CS: Palmer, Jake 1
HBP: Hadeen, Woody 1
PO: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Tatum, Dillon 1
